All news

Russian, Armenian presidents exchange opinions on Ukrainian crisis

MOSCOW, March 20, /ITAR-TASS/Russian and Armenian presidents Vladimir Putin and Serzh Sargsyan on Wednesday exchanged opinions on the situation around Crimea by phone at the request of the Armenian side, the Kremlin said in a statement.

“The presidents exchanged opinions in connection with the reunification of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol [a city with a special status] with the Russian Federation,” the statement said.

Sargsyan’s press service said the two leaders “stated that it [the referendum in Crimea] is another example of how peoples’ right to self-determination through free will expression is exercised”.

“At the same time, the adherence to the norms and principles of international law, first and foremost, the UN Charter, was emphasized,” it said.

The Republic of Crimea, where most residents are Russians, held a referendum on March 16, in which some 97 percent of the population voted for Crimea to secede from Ukraine and become part of Russia. On Tuesday, Russia and Crimea signed in Moscow a treaty on Crimea’s accession to the Russian Federation as a constituent member.

Russia does not recognize the current Ukrainian authorities who took power as a result of a coup in Ukraine in February.

Putin and Sargsyan also discussed bilateral cooperation and the process of conflict settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly Armenian region in Azerbaijan, the two leaders' press services reported.